Vietnam Electricity workers in HCMC check substations. The State-owned Vietnam Electricity Group has no intention of raising electricity prices this year – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) has rejected rumors on social media that the State-run utility will be raising electricity prices amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In a recent statement, EVN said the rumors are completely baseless and would cause public anxiety in the face of the outbreak.

The group noted that so far this year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has not provided any instructions or requirements for raising the electricity price.

“At a meeting on March 20, the ministry’s Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERAV) also said that there is no plan to raise the retail prices of electricity in 2020,” added EVN.

Rumors of this nature may cause divisions in society while authorities at all levels and the people are devoting their attention to the fight against Covid-19, according to EVN.

ERAV Director General Nguyen Anh Tuan said at the meeting that the ministry had already told the EVN not to increase electricity prices this year in alignment with the instructions of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh.

Tuan said that power agencies and corporations have also been asked to adopt the retail prices of electricity, according to regulations.

Pricing incentives are given to clients involved in the production and transport of farm produce, especially in the country’s northern border provinces, according to the official.

He said local power agencies and departments of industry and trade have been told to investigate the application of electricity prices among people who live in lodging houses.

In a directive earlier this month, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh stressed that his ministry would not approve proposals to raise the State-controlled prices of input materials for production, including electricity, for the first half of this year to support firms hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

The most recent hike in retail electricity prices was on March 20, 2019, when the power price soared by an average 8.6% to VND1,864.44 (US$0.08) per kilowatt hour.

The ministry also called for the construction of major industrial projects to be fast-tracked. They include Thai Binh 2, Long Phu 1 and Song Hau 1 thermal power plants; power, gas and renewable energy projects; and power transmission systems to ensure there will be no power crunch between 2021 and 2025.